Baseball Bounces Back in 10-4 Victory at Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - MIT jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the first three innings and never looked back as it downed host Springfield College, 10-4, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup on Friday afternoon. It was an empahtic bounce-back win for the Engineers, who moved to 12-8 and 3-4 in league play. The Pride lost their third straight in falling to 5-18 overall.

The Engineers wasted no time in getting on the board as the visitors manufactured a pair of runs in the top half of the first. Stewart Park led off the game with a walk and stole second base. Creed Mangrum then successfully reached on an infield bunt single to put runners on the corners. Two batters later, Thomas Phillips hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field scoring Park for the first run of the game. Steven Nunez followed with a single to plate Mangrum and give the visitors a two-run lead.

The Pride responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the first, as senior Jamie Mackie delivered an RBI double to left field.

SC rookie pitcher Nick Saviano had a short stay in Friday's tilt after giving up two additional runs in the second inning. Dan Hyatt drove in both runs on a line drive single to centerfield plating David Nole, who reached on a fielders choice and Park, who was hit by a pitch.

Nunez led off the top of the third for the Engineers with a single, however, after successfully retiring the next two batters, freshman reliever Mike Palumbo left one out over the plate which Nole crushed over the fence in right center.

With two outs in the third, Springfield chipped away at the lead as Luke Gabordi singled and Travis Turgeon drew a walk. Mario Piscitelli continued to swing the bat well for SC as he hammered a double into the left-center gap, plating a pair of runs.

The Pride made it a 6-4 ball game after four innings of play as Kropa came through again for the hosts, this time smacking a two-out triple to score freshman catcher Zach Carhart.

That would be as close as Springfield would get in the game though as the Engineers scored a run in the fifth, a pair of runs in the seventh, and another in the eighth en route to the 10-4 victory.

Nole finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and two stolen bases, while Phillips chipped in two hits and a pair of RBI. Nunez earned the win for MIT after tossing three scoreless innings of relief, and closed 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored.

Kropa had his third-straight three hit game as he went 3-5 with a run scored and an RBI, while Schmaltz also added a pair of hits. Saviano shouldered the loss as he went just 1.2 innings, surrendering up four earned runs off four hits.